He spent 2 1/2 seasons with a franchise that is baseball's version of Devil's Island, the Washington Nationals. It's so bad that his first season record of 73-89 was considered a positive.

The next two seasons, it was baseball business as usual in the nation's capital -- a 59-102 record followed by 26-61 mark and being fired at mid-season. He was replaced by Jim Riggleman, who had a 33-42 record and may be retained as manager for next season.

The Indians are very serious about Acta, who also is a finalist for the Houston Astros' job. He certainly ranks ahead of Class AAA Columbus Manager Torey Lovullo, who is expected to be in town for another round of interviews this week.

How does he stack up next to remaining finalists Bobby Valentine and Don Mattingly? Hard to know. Valentine has a plush deal with ESPN. Mattingly is an impressive guy, but his coaching career consists of two teams -- the Yankees and the Dodgers.

Chuck Crow/The Plain DealerWhether or not Manny Acta is the eventual choice to lead the Cleveland Indians on the field, the organization needs to address a need for Latino coaches at the big-league level, says Terry Pluto.You can imagine the financial culture shock Mattingly will experience if he ends up in Wahoo red, white and blue when stars are traded away -- rather than brought to his team as is the case in New York and Los Angeles.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Acta does bring something to the Indians that they desperately need. He is a strong Latino presence, a baseball man respected south of the border.

That is not reason to make him the manager. But it's a driving force to add Acta or someone like him to the new coaching staff. Baseball has a huge Latino influence. The young players from the Dominican, Venezuela and Latin countries need baseball role models.

When former manager Eric Wedge fired veteran coach Luis Isaac, it was a major mistake, but not for the reason some fans assumed. The Indians had bad bullpens with Isaac, although there is no reason to blame him for that.

But with 44 years in the Tribe organization, Isaac was the kind of coach who could help young Latino players acclimate to the big leagues. He was replaced by Chuck Hernandez, who simply didn't have the same status with Tribe players as Isaac. The only other Latino coach was Luis Rivera.

This is not about political correctness, it's simply common sense.

At the moment, the Indians have 11 Latinos on their 40-man roster. It's a safe bet at least eight will be on the 25-man roster. Having coaches who can speak Spanish is a huge advantage, especially since it's possible to find qualified Latino coaches if a team makes the effort.

Rudy Jaramillo is considered perhaps the best hitting coach in baseball. He is on the open market after leaving the Texas Rangers in a contract dispute. The Indians not only need to spend money for a manager, but also for top coaches.

The right coaching staff is critical here, where the team relies on so many young players.

So if the Indians hire Acta, they should consider Mike Hargrove for a bench coach position. Not because Hargrove is white and a team wants some racial balance or to hit a quota. Diversity also means having different ranges of experience on the coaching staff.

Hargrove has managed the Indians, Orioles and Mariners. Acta is only 40 and can be helped by the 59-year-old Hargrove. He not only understands the big league game -- but also knows how it is played in Cleveland, on and off the field.

General Manager Mark Shapiro said Hargrove is not a candidate to replace Wedge, but also stressed that Hargrove has the "energy and passion" to manage again. He'd be ideal for Acta, Mattingly and even Valentine because of his background with the Indians.

The Indians allowed Wedge almost complete power to pick coaches, and most were from the farm system and were much like him. The only one with major league managerial experience was Joel Skinner, who was an interim skipper for the Tribe after the 2002 All-Star break.

The interview of Acta hopefully is a sign that the Indians are looking not only at the manager's job in a different way, but also a new approach to the coaching staff.

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